Land and Forgiveness: How One Woman’s Dream to Free the Land is Breaking New Ground

Abstract

This article explores the cultural, economic, and ecological challenges of the Die Bevryde Grond Trust and communities of the larger Valley of Grace in the Breede River Basin of South Africa. It examines how ‘Deep Forgiveness’ inspires acts of practical love through reconciliation, restoration, and regeneration. This is the story of Aletta Venter, a South African farmer and descendent of European colonials, who created the Die Bevryde Grond Trust, or Freed Land Trust, to prioritize land stewardship over land ownership. It chronicles Venter’s pursuit of emerging technologies (Decentralized Autonomous Organizations, blockchain, tokenization, and community currencies) as the new plows and seeders to actualize her bold dream to free the land. Venter’s story touches on all four cornerstones of Riane Eisler’s Partnership Framework: Gender, Family/Childhood, Economics, and Language/Narrative. Eisler urges that clarity of vision is required for new ideas to be translated into new realities. Venter embodies this vision by partnering with Indigenous farmers, technologists, and social scientists, to forge a new narrative of our enduring relationship with The Land.